| Rank |
Pathway / Axis |
Cancer / Tumor Context |
Normal Tissue Context |
TSF |
Primary Effect |
Notes / Interpretation |
| 1 |
NF-κB inflammatory / survival signaling |
NF-κB ↓; COX-2 ↓; cytokines ↓ (reported) |
Inflammatory tone ↓ |
R, G |
Anti-inflammatory / anti-survival |
Consistent suppression of inflammatory signaling in multiple tumor models. |
| 2 |
PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis |
PI3K/AKT ↓; proliferation ↓ (model-dependent) |
↔ |
R, G |
Growth signaling suppression |
Frequently reported mechanism contributing to reduced tumor growth. |
| 3 |
Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial pathway) |
Bax ↑; Bcl-2 ↓; caspases ↑ (reported) |
Minimal apoptosis at lower exposure |
G |
Apoptotic induction |
Apoptosis induction associated with mitochondrial depolarization and cytochrome c release. |
| 4 |
Cell-cycle arrest (G1 / G2-M) |
Cell-cycle arrest ↑ (reported) |
↔ |
G |
Cytostasis |
Often linked to decreased Cyclin D1/CDK expression. |
| 5 |
ROS modulation (biphasic) |
ROS ↑ in some tumor contexts; apoptosis ↑ |
ROS ↓; antioxidant protection |
P, R |
Redox modulation |
Polyphenol-rich extracts may act antioxidant in normal cells and pro-oxidant in tumor cells at higher doses. |
| 6 |
Nrf2 / ARE pathway |
Context-dependent modulation |
Nrf2 ↑; antioxidant enzyme expression ↑ |
R, G |
Redox regulation |
Common polyphenol signature; may protect normal tissue during oxidative stress. |
| 7 |
MAPK signaling (ERK / JNK / p38) |
Stress-MAPK modulation (context-dependent) |
↔ |
P, R, G |
Signal reprogramming |
JNK/p38 activation linked to apoptosis; ERK modulation varies. |
| 8 |
Angiogenesis (VEGF signaling) |
VEGF ↓; angiogenesis ↓ (reported) |
↔ |
G |
Anti-angiogenic |
Anti-angiogenic activity observed in several preclinical systems. |
| 9 |
Metastasis / invasion (MMPs) |
MMP2/MMP9 ↓; migration ↓ (reported) |
↔ |
G |
Anti-invasive phenotype |
Likely downstream of NF-κB and MAPK suppression. |
| 10 |
Bioavailability constraint |
Systemic exposure limited; metabolite-driven effects |
Generally well tolerated |
— |
Translation constraint |
OPCs have limited oral bioavailability; many in vitro concentrations exceed typical plasma levels. |